Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1887-06-17
THE DAIRY.
Da;,;cs or crcun.eries, Which.


Mr.. N. j. Shepherd, of Missouri, furn-
the heading of "Dairies or Creameries, !"
as to their degree of profits, an article
which will be interesting, especially IN
some sections where controversy is going
on as to the outcome as between creameries
and the production of butter on the farm.
The correspondent says:
Which is the most profitable for the
average farmer? Can the creameries pay
as much for the cream rs it is T:orth to the
farmer? At the first glance it would seem
that they could not, because the creameries
expect, of course, to make reasonable
profit in manufacturing and sending to
market, and if the farmer kept the cream
at home and manufactured it into butter
himself he could secure the same profit
that the creamery would.
That implies, of course, that the farmer
can manufacture as cheap, or rather
with as small a proportionate expense, and
manufacture as good an article that will
sell for as much per pound. Can he do
this? 1t he can, certainly it seems that the
best interest to the farmer could be secured
by dairying-making his own cream into
butter and sending to market rather than
selling without manufacturing.
Can he take the milk, or rather the cream,
facture into butter that will grade as we'll
and sell for as much as creamery that
will take up the cream from three or four
| hundred COWS? 1t is mainly upon this
question that decision hangs.
Taken ordinarily, in proportion to the
amount of labor saving machinery we use,
we can decrease the cost. The farmer with
his small herd of COWS cannot afford to in
vest too much money in dairy machinery.
The interest on the money invested is SO
much that the amount manufactured
cannot make q large quantity of butter,
and it requires the incest care to secure the
same grade each time. By having SO
much larger quantity Of cream to manu-
facture the creamery can use more
machinery, and should be able to reduce
the cost of manufacture to the lowest
possible sum and at the same time make an
article of much more even grade, and, Of
course, ought to secure better price. Not
that this is true in all cases or in all Sec
tons. Circumstances in different localities
will make difference. But for the average
farmer who is located convenient to q
creamery, and who can at best only keep q
small number of COWS, in connection with
the other farm work, this offers the best
| disposition he can make of his milk or
cream.
Some dairymen, by giving very close at
tention to every detail, are able to secure q
better price and realize larger proportion
ate profit than the creameries or farmers
that sell the cream. But at the same time
there are plenty of others, in many respects
fully as careful with the advantages Of To-
cation, that derive as much profit from
dairying as those who simply sell their
cream. Farmers, of course, want to secure
the largest amount Of profit, and usually
with the least risk. Taking all things into
consideration, under average conditions,
the creameries can afford to pay more for
the cream than it is worth to the farmer to
manufacture himself. The farmer can use
as much feed raised on the farm, and can
secure as much manure from the COWS by
either plan, so that in this respect there
need be no difference of any account.
4 With a creamery convenient that is in
clined to treat its patrons fairly, in grea!
majority of cases selling the cream will
give the most profit. But when away from
a creamery, or where from any cause they
are not willing to pay what the cream is
really worth to the farmer, dairying will
pay the most profit.